Boston Bruins: Ranking the Bruins’ top trade deadline targets

Tyler Toffoli (Los Angeles Kings)

Of all the names, Tyler Toffoli springs of the page as one that matches the Boston Bruins style best. Him and Chris Kreider certainly tick plenty of boxes for what the Bruins typically look for.

A possession player that models as a more traditional power forward; potentially the perfect option alongside David Krejci and Jake Debrusk on the second line. He’s by no means a play-maker though; you’d be reliant upon his line-mates to fulfil that task.

What he does do well though is managing to play a two-way game without being an atypical defensive forward. He gets back and gets in the way, forcing turnovers and just generally causing enough of a nuisance to disrupt other team’s cycle games or zone entries.

Adding Toffoli would cost the Bruins less than adding Kreider, but he lacks the speed of the New York Rangers skater. On the reverse of that, adding Kreider means juggling the lines as he plays the left, whereas Toffoli would slot in on the right comfortably.

You’d hedge a decent bet that the Boston Bruins will acquire one or the other and out of the two, Toffoli would prove best value.

Trades with the Los Angeles Kings don’t have to break the bank; their motivation right now is clear – they want to get younger, quicker and more skilled. There are plenty of options we could offer them, including someone like Danton Heinen, who has found himself on the outside looking in lately.

As an acquisition, he rates as the best possible player for us to acquire without having to throw a first-round pick on the table. As a result, I’m grading a possible deal for him as a B+.